Xbox Live Indie Games: Snap Judgement (06/07/2010)
Every week Xbox Live's Indie Games service is flooded with new titles. Some are good, some are great and a lot are utter crap. We wade through the demos to see what's worth your time.
Quirky dreamscapes, axe murderers and gluttonous Americans are the flavour of XBLIG: Snap Judgement this week. Plus the usual zombies and avatars, obviously. Here's the run down.
The United States of Zombieland - 80 MP
Terrible rip off of super-selling XBLIG shooter I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1. It even has an awful auto-tuned take on the original's soundtrack song. Please, if you are thinking of buying this game, get the original instead. It's infinitely better. More Here
Quizocalypse - 240 MP
More zombies. Pick from four and compete for brains in the Raincoat Company's (geddit?) low-culture quiz. Questions on everything vidjagamey, geeky and trashy. Just a quiz game ultimately, but the art and presentation is fantastic. Somebody, give the artist a job on a proper game! More Here
Bloody Death - 240 MP
This one is interesting. A live-action survive 'em up, casting you as the white-clad victim. Use QTE's to protect her from the axe murder who has left her friends in a puddle of blood. Unfortunately, the only event in the demo results in you keeping still and remaining undiscovered, rather than an actual action. Would like to see more of this game. More Here
テスターフェイズワン Tester Phase One - 80 MP
A retro shooter, the mechanics of which I don't really understand. It's got some Japanese text in in though, which is always cool. Otherwise unremarkable. More Here
Paradox - 80 MP
Quality little match-3 puzzler played inside an intergalactic washing machine. Really quite good. Feels like a clone of an existing game, though I may be wrong. Anyone got any ideas. More Here
Nightmare - 80 MP
Don't be deceived by this one's title-screen and Haloween-esque opening theme, it's more Yellow Submarine than Freddy Kruger. Navigate your sleepy little fella through his own colourful dreams, visualised in a 5-year-old gone made with Paint universe. Move through a series of doors to reach the exit of each level. Fascinating idea, but more than a little baffling. Perhaps that's the point. More Here
Avatar... Fly - 80 MP
A bit like Pilotwings. If you were to take everything that was good about Pilotwings and just leave the flying through hoops bit. Rubbish. More Here
The American Hot Dog Race - 80 MP
Button mashing, hot dog scoffing... gluttony simulator? RSI your way to victory against both online and offline foes, as 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' parps along in the background. Remember 'All You Can Quaff' from Castle Crashers? Like that, but with avatars. God knows how mine gets those hot dogs through his Stormtrooper helmet. More Here
Avatar Shatter - 80 MP
Another avatar game, of which I am currently predisposed to dislike. This one has you running up and down (with up to three co-op buddies), firing at waves of polygons as they slide by. There are various medals you can earn along the way, kind of like mini-achievements, but the weak shooting and uninspiring mechanics mean you won't hang around long enough to earn many of them. More Here
Stop the Woodcutter! - 240 MP
Tower Defence game pitting your army of woodland chums against some dastardly lumberjacks. The demo reveals nothing you haven't seen before, but it is incredibly pretty. Lovely presentation from Nitama Naishin. More Here
MyBand - 80 MP
Brilliant fun! Remember Drum Studio last week? Well, it's just like that but it has guitars and tablas and violins and all sorts. So you can record your efforts, then play all your instruments back at the same time at full volume to annoy your wife/girlfriend/parents/cat! Incredibly basic, of course, but no less fun for it. You can even play live. Less a game, more of a cool toy. More Here
